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Buderus GB142 ingesting exhaust and locking itself out of

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highoctane
highoctane Member Posts: 2
in Gas Heating

Hello, I have a 14 year old Buderus GB142-30 that is giving a 6A error approx every 2 days. I have replaced the ignitor and ionization rod. Burner was cleaned in the last month with mineral oil and I replaced the top gasket on burner. At this time I also replaced the condensate trap as mine was cracked. The unit has had regular yearly maintenance but I have to replace ignitor and rod at least once a year for the past 5 years or more.

A technician was brought in and they tested for CO2 - showed 35ppm within the boiler casing. They have assessed that unit is ingesting its exhaust, causing the flame rod and ignitor to get wet from exhaust moisture, causing unit to lock out. Unit always fires up upon hitting reset button. I am told that this is because the rod and ignitor have time to dry, which makes sense.

The two solutions offered by the plumbing company are

1) doing a soap test, and

2) full boiler replacement, of course.

I should note that my exhaust and intake pipes are separated by a wall and have 15 feet of separation.

I plan to look into doing a soap test, was wondering if anyone has done this with the GB142 or if they have any advice moving forward. I am aware that this is an older boiler with a reputation for being temperamental, its just hard to stomach doing a full replacement after dropping so much money into this unit. This company also has a reputation for recommending "full replacements" on older units as opposed to taking the time to fix the problem.

Comments

  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 3,476
    edited February 17

    Run the unit , then search around the boiler with a mirror . It will fog up.

    You can also smell a leak.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • highoctane
    highoctane Member Posts: 2

    Thanks thats a great tip

  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 11,930
    edited 12:05AM

    CO carbon monoxide is measured in PPM.

    CO2 carbon dioxide is measured in percentage.

    the error code 6A indicated that the boiler control is not sensing a flame when there should have a flame. You indicated that a professional tested the equipment and indicated that there may be exhaust gasses recirculating into the air intake that is causing the problem. If that is the case then one or more of these gaskets may be the problem. The maintenance technician should have these gaskets available in the event that one of them may no longer be re-useable.

    Buderus 7098834 Seal, and Buderus 7098916 Seal, and Buderus 7098916 Seal, and Buderus 7098850 Seal, and Buderus 7099021 Seal, and 7098778 Sealing O ring, and Buderus 7100742 Trap seal, and Oval exhaust Seal 7098858.

    Finding the leaking gasket and fixing the problem should be part of the maintenance. That is what maintenance is all about. Taking things apart cleaning and adjusting the parts, and putting them back together properly. If you are going to get charged to find what they didn't do correctly during the maintenance then maybe it is time to look for a new contractor.

    Run that by the service manager and see what they say. Also ask them to bring all those part numbers with them on the next service/maintenance visit. If they resist, then ask them how are they supposed to the the factory authorized maintenance without gaskets? Would you take a water pump apart without having a spare gasket on hand? Why would take a combustion chamber apart without having the proper gaskets on hand?

    Do your service trucks have more sales forms than actual repair parts?

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

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